Bounties for the Oceans: initiative that seeks to clean first critical habitat in the Philippines

MANILA, December 2, 2018 — Bounties Network launched its first pilot social impact bounty project in the Philippines called “Bounties for the Oceans: Philippines Pilot – Sustained, Verifiable Plastic Cleanups” in Las Piñas–Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA).

Bounty Network has partnered with ConsenSys Social Impact to test how Ethereum blockchain can be used to incentivize individuals participating in the ocean cleanup at LPPCHEA, a nature reserve situated south of Manila Bay declared as the first conservation area in the Philippines.

The event successfully gathered hundreds of locals to participate in the bounty-based cleanup. Participants were given PHP 500 equivalent of ETH for their effort to clean non-biodegradable debris LPPCHEA over the course of the weekend.

Bounty Network has also partnered with coins.ph to facilitate the conversion of ETH (ethereum) into the official currency or Philippine peso that can be used in paying bills and or transacting locally. This partnership also allowed the unbanked population in the country to cash out their earned money at any Security Bank ATM nationwide.

According to The Bounty Network in its Medium post, the goal of this bounty-based cleanup is to “re-engineer the flow of money and its distribution patterns, bridging the gap between social entrepreneurs, non-profit/NGOs, and the general public.” This initiative also seeks to foster long-term behavioral shifts on a global scale by enabling individuals and organizations to incentivize millions of hours of human capital to collaborate towards positive social and environmental outcomes. It also seeks to help create new jobs in plastic waste-laden communities like Manila and reduce costly administrative expenditure that is prevalent in the existing charity models.

The second phase of the project will involve recycling and production of products out of the bountied plastic debris and turning it into plastic, which will then be used to produce clothing and footwear that can be sold through a retailer.

The funds generated from these initiatives will be used to drive more social or environmental impact projects on the blockchain.

While the event has already ended, anyone can still contribute to the bounty and continue to receive remuneration in the form of cryptocurrency or ETH in return for keeping the ocean clean.